Dr. Nicholas Andreas Kolaitis is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine, with a focus on lung transplantation and pulmonary hypertension. He is the director of bronchoscopy for the UCSF Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine. In the hospital, he cares for patients with advanced lung disease before and after lung transplantation. In the clinic, he cares for patients with lung transplants, pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs) and pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the blood vessels of the lungs). He also supervises fellows in pulmonary medicine as they provide care for patients with other conditions related to the lungs.

Kolaitis earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at UCLA Health, followed by fellowships in lung transplantation and pulmonary and critical care medicine at UCSF.

Kolaitis' research focuses on ways to improve quality of life for patients with advanced lung disease. He holds a master’s degree in clinical research from UCSF. He is currently serving as the vice chair of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry, and as an editorial board member for the CHEST Journal and the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation Open.

Kolaitis is also a member of the executive board of the California Thoracic Society and as one of two representatives to the American Thoracic Society Council of Chapter Representatives. He is involved in health policy reform, currently serving as the vice chair for the American Thoracic Society Health Policy Committee and as a member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Advocacy Committee. He also serves as a member of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute Lung Transplantation Task Force, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Standards and Guidelines Committee, and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Patient and Caregiver Education Committee.

Kolaitis’ clinical work has been recognized with various awards, including the Jeffrey Golden Outstanding Clinical Fellow Award, the Michael Stulbarg Outstanding Teaching Award, and the California Thoracic Society Outstanding Clinician Award.

In his spare time he enjoys restoring his 1965 Volvo 122 and sailing San Francisco Bay in his 1938 San Francisco Bear Boat.